WEIRD HISTORY
Most visitors will walk past 109 East Palace Avenue in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and have no idea that they are passing the site that once served as Robert Oppenheimer’s office. By Larry Bleiberg, 29 January 2020 – In the courtyard of a …
Many common terms in English have unexpected roots. Kelly Grovier explores the origins of seven words coined in art history, including the political meanings of ‘silhouette’ and ‘picturesque’, and how ‘mobile’ became ‘mob’. By Kelly Grovier – Which came first, the chicken or …
By ensuring that the Buddha’s teachings were transmitted across millennia, the religion helped develop and spread printing techniques around the world – as a new exhibition reveals. By Cameron Laux, 15 January 2020 – Do you ever feel like you’re trapped …
Confederate agents seeking European support were imprisoned by the U.S. consul, which ignited international protest. The arrest and the subsequent landing of U.S. troops could happen in Tangier, yet it was completely unthinkable just 12 milesaway in Gibraltar or 60 miles away in …
A wild new hypothesis links supernovae to a pivotal moment in human evolution. By Passant Rabie – Among the many things that gave ancient humans an evolutionary edge over other primate species is the ability to walk upright. But exactly why our ancestors …
The research proposes an intriguing new twist in one of the most fascinating moments in Earth’s history. By Passant Rabie – Some 65 million years ago, our planet encountered one of the darkest days in its history. The Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event resulted in …
Researchers present what they’ve learned now that they can read the tiny text inside the Antikythera mechanism. By Robby Berman – Exploded view of Antikythera mechanism (Peulle/Wikimedia). Though it seemed to be just a corroded lump of some sort when it was found …
Five hundred years after coining the first dollar, a tiny mining town is coming to grips with the many ways it shaped the modern world. By Eliot Stein – The US dollar is the most widely used currency in the world. It is …
Tool of the devil, harmless family game—or fascinating glimpse into the non-conscious mind? The makers of the first talking board asked the board what they should call it; the name “Ouija” came through and, when they asked what that meant, the board replied, …
The find may challenge modern notions about the starch-starved “paleo diet.” The excavation at Border Cave in the Lebombo Mountains on the Kwazulu-Natal/eSwatini border (Copyright Lucinda Backwell) By Katherine J. Wu, Smithsonianmag.Com – The human hankering for roasted root vegetables may have gotten …
